JPH02128357A - Automatic replacing device for disk - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive the shortening of a disk replacement time by placing radially plural pieces of containing parts in which plural pieces of slots for containing horizontally a disk cartridge are arranged in the vertical direction, and also, allowing them to be rotatable centering around a vertical axis. CONSTITUTION:As for a containing case 22, plural pieces of containing parts 24 in which plural pieces of slots 24a for containing horizontally a disk cartridge 21 are arranged in the vertical direction are placed radially against a vertical axis, and the containing case 22 is provided so as to be rotatable centering around the vertical axis. A means 25 for driving to rotate the containing case 22 is provided so that each containing part 24 of its containing case is positioned in a prescribed disk replacing position, and also, a recording and reproducing device 27 or a disk carrier, and a lifting mechanism 28 for allowing it to ascend and descend so as to position it in front of a desired slot 24a, in front of the containing part 24 being in the disk replacing position are provided. Moreover, a disk inserting and detaching device for moving the cartridge 21 between the recording and reproducing device 27 or the disk carrier and the containing case 22 is provided. In such a way, the disk replacement time can be shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention automatically selects a desired disc from a plurality of disc cartridges arranged and housed in a storage case by commands such as an external signal, and switches the selected disc to a recording/playback device. The present invention relates to an automatic disk exchange device that can be used.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, this type of device has a plurality of slots 2a lined up in which a disk cartridge 1 containing a double-sided disk having recorded images on both sides is housed in an upright position. a storage case 2, a recording and reproducing device 3 placed on both sides of the storage case 2, a guide shaft 4 and a ball screw 6 that are placed parallel to the front surfaces of the storage case 2 and the recording and reproducing device 3, and a frame 6 that holds these; ball screw 6
a drive motor 7 that rotationally drives the disk, a transfer table 8 held by the guide shaft 4 and the ball screw 6, and a disk carrier 9 held in the transfer table 8 so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the slot 2a. It has a motor 10 and a pulley 11 for rotating the disc carrier 9, and an insertion/removal device 12 provided on the disc carrier 9 for inserting/removing the disc cartridge 1 into/from the storage case 2 and the recording/reproducing device 3. The insertion/removal device 12 includes a guide shaft 13 and a ball screw 14 parallel to the slot 2a, a support base 15 held by the support base 15, an engagement claw 16 rotatably held by the support base 16, and an engagement claw. 16 and a motor 17 that rotates the motor 16.

In the apparatus configured as described above, in order to exchange a disk, the drive motor 7 is operated by a command such as an external signal, rotates the ball screw 6, moves the disk carrier 9 in the direction of the arrow, and moves the disk carrier 9 to the slot containing the desired disk. Stop in front of 2a. Next, the engagement claw 16 of the insertion/removal device 12 moves forward in the direction of arrow B with its tip horizontally, enters the engagement groove 1a of the disk car (IJ) 1, and then rotates vertically. By engaging with the retaining groove 1a and then retreating, the disc cartridge 1 inside the storage case 2 is pulled out and transferred into the disc carrier 9. Next, the disc carrier 9 holding the disc cartridge is moved in front of the recording/reproducing apparatus 3, and the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the recording/reproducing apparatus 3 by the insertion/ejection device 12. In addition,
By rotating the disc carrier 9 by 180 degrees in the direction shown by arrow C before inserting the disc cartridge 1, the screen recording surface of the disc can be selectively recorded and reproduced.

Through the above-described operations, the disk cartridge 1 is automatically exchanged with respect to the storage case 2 and the recording/reproducing device 3.

Also, instead of using a single storage case, multiple storage cases with multiple slots for storing IJ discs upright can be stacked one on top of the other, and the recording/playback device can be placed underneath. There are also known automatic disk exchange devices equipped with
(See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-243866).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, when increasing the number of disks stored in the storage case, the storage case becomes longer in the horizontal direction, the installation space for the device becomes larger, and the disk carrier becomes larger. There is a problem in that the distance to move the disc cartridge to a desired slot in the storage case, and then to the recording/reproducing device such as the disc carrier after pulling out the disc cartridge is long, resulting in a long disc exchange time.

In addition, even in a configuration in which multiple storage cases are arranged one above the other, increasing the number of discs stored increases the height and width of the device, which increases the time it takes for the disc carrier to travel and increases the time it takes to replace discs. was there.

Furthermore, in this case, the disk carrier needs to move not only vertically but also horizontally, which causes the problem that the mechanism for moving the disk carrier becomes complicated.

The present invention was attempted in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disk exchange device that can quickly exchange disks while using a storage case that stores a large number of disks. .

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a storage case in which a plurality of storage sections each having a plurality of vertically arranged slots for storing disk cartridges horizontally are arranged along a vertical axis. The storage case is provided so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and the storage case is rotationally driven so as to position each storage part of the storage case at a predetermined disk exchange position. Further, a recording/reproducing device or a disc carrier is provided in front of the storage section at the disc exchange position, and an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the recording/reproducing device or a disc carrier so as to position it in front of a desired slot; This device is equipped with a disk insertion/removal device for moving the disk cartridge between the device or the disk carrier and the storage case.

Effects of the present invention With the above-described configuration, a large number of discs can be efficiently stored in the storage case, and when replacing discs, the recording/reproducing device or the disc carrier can be moved to a desired height position, and the storage case can be moved to the desired height at the same time. The storage unit can be rotated to a disc exchange position facing the recording/reproducing device or the disc carrier, and thus the recording/reproducing device or the disc carrier can be quickly positioned in front of a desired slot of the storage case. This makes it possible to shorten disk replacement time.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an automatic disk exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 21 is a disk cartridge rotatably containing a double-sided disk having recording images on both sides, and 22 is a plurality of disk cartridges. 2
This is a storage case that stores 1. This storage case 22 is arranged so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow by a vertical rotation shaft 23, and has a plurality of cartridge storage sections 24 (four in this embodiment) arranged radially with respect to the rotation axis. have. Each cartridge storage section 24 is a slot for storing the disk cartridge 21 horizontally) 2
4a are arranged one above the other. Reference numeral 26 denotes a drive motor that rotates the rotary shaft 23, and constitutes means for rotationally driving the storage case 22 so that each storage section 24 of the storage case 22 is positioned at a disk exchange position indicated by the symbol P.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a recording/reproducing device for recording and/or reproducing data on a disc; 28, the recording/reproducing device is raised and lowered in front of the storage section 24 at the disc exchange position P, and is moved to a desired slot).
This is a lifting mechanism positioned in front of 24a. This elevating mechanism 28 includes a movable table 29 that rotatably holds the recording/reproducing device 27 in the direction of arrow E, a motor 30 that rotates the recording/reproducing device 27, a guide shaft 31 that vertically guides the movable table 29, and a guide shaft 31 that vertically guides the movable table 29. A ball screw 32 arranged parallel to the shaft 31 and threadedly engaged with the moving table 2e, a frame 33 to which the guide shaft 31 and the ball screw 32 are attached, and the ball screw 32.
It has a motor 34 that rotationally drives the moving table 29, a balancer 36 that balances the moving table 29 in the direction of arrow F, and the like. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the recording/reproducing device 27 is provided with a disk insertion/removal device for inserting/removing a disk cartridge into/from the storage case 22.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the disk insertion/ejection device 36. As shown in FIG. The disk insertion/ejection device 3e includes a moving section 37 that can move along the recording/reproducing device 27, a guide shaft 38 that guides the moving section 37, a drive belt 39 screwed to the moving section 37, and a drive belt 39. A pulley 4o supporting the drive belt 39, a motor (not shown) that drives the drive belt 39, and a rotary solenoid 4 attached to both sides of the moving part 370.
1, and an engagement pawl 42 that is connected to a rotary solenoid 41 and that can be engaged with an engagement groove 21a of the IJ edge 21 (disc car).

The operation of the automatic disk exchange device configured as described above will be described below.

In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the recording/reproducing device 27 is not equipped with a disk car (IJ). When a disc instruction signal is input from the outside, the motor 34 operates to rotate the ball screw 32 and drive the recording/reproducing device 27.
The slot containing the required disk cartridge) 2
Position it at a height of 4a. In parallel with this operation,
The storage section 24 in which the desired disk cartridge is stored is determined, and the motor 26 is operated to rotate the storage case 22 to position the desired storage section 24 at the disk exchange position P in front of the recording/reproducing device 27. Thus, the recording/reproducing device 27 is positioned in front of the slot 24a in which the required disk cartridge is housed.

By raising and lowering the recording/reproducing device 27 and rotating the storage case 22 at the same time, the relative movement speed of the two increases, and the recording/reproducing device 27 is moved to the slot 24a in which the desired disk cartridge is stored. The time required for pre-positioning can be shortened.

In FIG. 2, when the recording/reproducing device 27 is positioned in front of the slot containing the required disk cartridge and stopped, a drive belt 39 is driven by a motor (not shown) to move the moving part 37 to the disk car (IJ). 21 side and position it at the locking position. When the moving part 37 is positioned, the engaging claw 42 connected to the rotary solenoid 41 attached to the moving part 3T rotates in the direction of arrow H and engages with the retaining part 21a of the disk cartridge 21. After the attachment is completed, the moving section 37 is moved by the drive belt 39, and the disk car (IJ) is inserted into the recording/reproducing device 27.

At this position, the recording/reproducing device 27 performs a recording/reproducing operation on the disk in the disk cartridge 21. After the recording/reproducing operation is completed, the above operation is reversed to remove the disk cartridge in the recording/reproducing device 27. 21 is returned to the predetermined position within the slot of the storage case 22.

When performing recording and reproduction on the opposite side of the disc, before inserting the disc cartridge into the recording and reproduction device 27, the recording and reproduction device 27 is rotated 180 degrees in the direction of arrow E in FIG. The cartridge may be set in the recording/reproducing device 27.

In the above embodiment, the recording and reproducing device 27 is held on the movable table 29 provided in front of the storage case 22, and the recording and reproducing device 27 is directly moved in front of each slot 24a of the storage case 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the recording and reproducing device is placed above or below the storage case, and the movable table 2B holds a disc carrier instead of the recording and reproducing device, and this disc carrier is used to move the storage case 22.
It may also be configured to take out the disc cartridge inside and transfer it to the recording/reproducing device. In this case as well, the disc carrier can be quickly positioned in front of a desired slot in the storage case, and the disc replacement time can be shortened. However, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, if the recording/reproducing device is moved directly in front of the slot of the storage case, the disk exchange time can be further shortened and high-speed disk exchange can be achieved.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the present invention has a plurality of storage sections each having a plurality of vertically arranged slots for horizontally storing disk cartridges, which are arranged radially with respect to a vertical axis. The storage case is rotatable about its vertical axis, and a means for rotationally driving the storage case is provided, and a recording/reproducing device or a disk carrier and the storage case are installed in front of the storage section at the disk exchange position. By providing a lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering, a large number of disk cartridges can be efficiently stored in the storage case, and the entire device can be downsized. Furthermore, when replacing disks, it is possible to The carrier can be moved to a desired height position, and at the same time, the storage case can be rotated so that the desired storage section is at the disc exchange position facing the recording and reproducing device or the disc carrier. This has the effect that the disk carrier can be quickly positioned in front of a desired slot of the storage case, thereby shortening the disk exchange time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic disk exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a disk insertion/ejection device used in the device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional automatic disk exchange device. It is a diagram. 21... Disk cartridge, 22... Storage case, 23... Rotating shaft, 24... Storage part, 24
a...Slot, 26...Motor, 27...Recording and reproducing device, 28...Elevating mechanism, 29...Moving table, 3
o...Motor, 31...Guide shaft, 32...Ball screw, 33...Frame, 34...Motor, 36
... Balancer. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person

Claims (1)

[Claims] A storage case in which a plurality of storage parts each having a plurality of vertically arranged slots for horizontally storing disk cartridges are arranged radially with respect to a vertical axis, and are rotatable about the vertical axis. a means for rotationally driving the storage case so as to position each storage section of the storage case at a predetermined disk exchange position; and a recording/reproducing device or a disk that is movable up and down in front of the storage section located at the disk exchange position. moving the disk cartridge between the carrier, a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the recording/playback device or disk carrier so as to position it in front of each slot of the storage section, the recording/playback device or disk carrier, and the storage case; An automatic disk exchange device having a disk insertion/removal device.